Malawi Farmers Find ‘The Future Belongs to the Organized’
By the Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA)
This article is taken from Bread for the World Institute's 2003 annual report on the state of world hunger, Agriculture in the Global Economy. Download the section below in pdf 
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Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Africa, regularly facing food shortages as a result of recurrent drought, limited and degraded agricultural land, and weak marketing systems. However, since 1994 ACDI/VOCA* has been helping small farmers organize to form village-based clubs, which work together to collectively address common agricultural production and marketing problems.
In 1997 ACDI/VOCA facilitated the formation of the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM), which today represents nearly 100,000 farm families in 32 self-financing agribusiness associations. NASFAM provides a range of services to its members, including transportation and input procurement contracting, domestic and exports sales, training in business management, quality control and literacy. All commercial services are paid through membership dues and fees, with external donor funds supporting training and education. In addition, NASFAM enables thousands of small farmers to engage in democratic processes, and to establish partnerships with financial service providers. Its rallying cry is: “The future belongs to the organized.”
In mid-1996 ACDI/VOCA was invited to work in Mulanje with the Malawi Association of Spice and Herbs (MASH) in Mulanje, which was experiencing serious financial and managerial problems. In light of the poor record and continuing difficulties of the association, it was decided that MASH was not a suitable partner. Local farmers, however, were eager for help in getting organized, telling ACDI/VOCA, “We know the benefits of associations. … We don’t want to be left behind.”
ACDI/VOCA set up a small technical support office in the area the following year and began to survey agricultural activities. It soon became evident that Malawi’s fiery Birdseye chili peppers held the greatest potential for profits. Staff helped the chili growers organize into small groups, which in turn joined forces to create collection and marketing centers. They then distributed quality seed and taught the farmers how to correctly dry and grade their chilies ready for export. The farmers worked hard to overcome initial quality problems, continually improving production, drying and grading practices in order to develop a reputation of having a consistently high quality product.
Zikometso Smallholder Farmers’ Association was formally admitted to NASFAM membership in 1999, having developed and adopted a set of bylaws and elected a board of directors. By that time, the association numbered more than 5,000 farmers in 239 village level clubs.
The following year, Zikometso Association marketed 62 tons of Birdseye chili peppers to Europe and Australia, making a profit of $27,000. Most of this money was returned to the members as a second bonus payment. Farmers who were association members thus received 35 percent more for their chili peppers than did nonmembers. The association also was the first to graduate from ACDI/VOCA’s program by recruiting its entire management and field staff, leasing two warehouses, purchasing its own computer and providing motorcycles to field employees. NASFAM acts in a field advisory capacity, and exports the chilies as a broker for a fee.
This year, Zikometso Association’s 5,700 members enjoyed another successful chili harvest, producing 80 metric tons – 77 tons of which were exported to Europe – and reaping gross revenues of $200,000. The association has opened three farm supply shops selling seed and fertilizer, and business is booming. Zikometso chairperson Byson Eruwa says: “We are having the best year ever - and this is due to strong leadership and staff at all levels of the Association. Farmers are loyal to the Association because we can compete strongly against traders who do not have a long-term interest in the farmer. We are getting paid a second payment from the Association for the third time in four years. No trader can do that.”
Zikometso Association also is sharing its newfound expertise with another NASFAM member, the Balaka Area Smallholder Farmers’ Association (BASFA). High quality seeds from Zikometso have been distributed to BASFA members, and training given in seedbed preparation and transplanting. Eleven metric tons of chilies have been transferred from BASFA to Zikometso’s warehouse for grading and export, and the first container of Balaka chili was exported to Europe in late September 2002.
Through a commitment to quality, willingness to work together, and sheer hard work, Zikometso Association members have increased their incomes and brought economic security to their communities. Like tens of thousands of other NASFAM farmers, they have proved that in Malawi, the future does belong to the organized.
*With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development
